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Who will win the Championship?

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Who is going to win the 2015 Six Nations ?

Who will win the Championship? Vote_lcap38%Who will win the Championship? Vote_rcap 38% 
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Who will win the Championship? Vote_lcap42%Who will win the Championship? Vote_rcap 42% 
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Who will win the Championship? Vote_lcap20%Who will win the Championship? Vote_rcap 20% 
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Total Votes : 53
 
 

Who will win the Championship? Empty Who will win the Championship?

Post by Notch Sat 14 Mar 2015, 11:59 pm

The top three teams are tied going into the final weekend and assuming all three teams win their games, the title is likely to be decided by who can score the most on the day.

First game, 3rd place Wales play Italy in Rome at 12.30. Wales have a points difference of +12, so will need to win by at least 30 points to have any chance, probably need 40+ for that chance to be realistic.

In the second game 2nd place Ireland play Scotland in Murrayfield at 14.30, they have a points difference of +33 and will need a convincing win- and to hope France turn up in London.

Final game, current leaders England play France at Twickenham at 17.00. They have a points difference of +37 and as the last team to play, they have the sizeable advantage of knowing exactly what the margin of victory will need to be for them to win the title. They will need to be more clinical than they were against Scotland, the title could be all but settled by now if they took all their chances


Last edited by Notch on Sun 15 Mar 2015, 10:37 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Post by GLove39 Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:02 am

Should extend that poll as Italy or France could still win it...

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Post by Rory_Gallagher Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:02 am

I still think Ireland are in the best position. Our defence has generally been very good, and Scotland have the weakest defence in the tournament. The italian defence has been reasonably good and playing them in Rome is no longer the try fest it used to be.

England have the most difficult game of all, probably.

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Post by Notch Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:04 am

GLove39 wrote:Should extend that poll as Italy or France could still win it...

But won't. I am willing to undergo some kind of forum forfeit if I'm wrong about that, but I'm not going to be wrong about it!
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Post by SecretFly Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:12 am

Never mind about who will win on a technicality.

Let's see what Ireland can do against Scotland when they have to be ruthless. That's test enough for me. Let's see if they can genuinely play a game that goes for tries and doesn't take the foot off.

If they play to get scores, as both England and Wales will certainly attempt, then the rest will take care of itself. But if they go just to get a 'win' then they'll deserve to be pipped at the post by someone else.

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Post by GLove39 Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:19 am

SecretFly wrote:Never mind about who will win on a technicality.

Let's see what Ireland can do against Scotland when they have to be ruthless.  That's test enough for me.  Let's see if they can genuinely play a game that goes for tries and doesn't take the foot off.

If they play to get scores, as both England and Wales will certainly attempt, then the rest will take care of itself.  But if they go just to get a 'win' then they'll deserve to be pipped at the post by someone else.  

That's my fear for next Saturday.
Was hoping ireland would arrive at Murrayfield with the weight of a potential grand slam weighing heavily and play a conservative brand.

On the flip side though, since Cotter has us playing a loose game, so if ireland open up then we could be in for a high scoring cracker

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Post by SecretFly Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:25 am

GLove39 wrote:
SecretFly wrote:Never mind about who will win on a technicality.

Let's see what Ireland can do against Scotland when they have to be ruthless.  That's test enough for me.  Let's see if they can genuinely play a game that goes for tries and doesn't take the foot off.

If they play to get scores, as both England and Wales will certainly attempt, then the rest will take care of itself.  But if they go just to get a 'win' then they'll deserve to be pipped at the post by someone else.  

That's my fear for next Saturday.
Was hoping ireland would arrive at Murrayfield with the weight of a potential grand slam weighing heavily and play a conservative brand.

On the flip side though, since Cotter has us playing a loose game, so if ireland open up then we could be in for a high scoring cracker

At this stage I just want to see us be honest and try it Glove. If we lose playing a hungry game then so be it. Scotland will get the spoils. But it's just the attitude I want to see from Ireland that some games are worth more than just wins. England and Wales have an instinctive ruthless streak that keeps them wanting more. They don't fall back into defensive mode unless pushed. I just want to see Ireland realise sometimes that ruthlessness (or the attempt to be) is required for winning things. Next week will be one of those days.

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Post by Hood83 Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:30 am

SecretFly wrote:
GLove39 wrote:
SecretFly wrote:Never mind about who will win on a technicality.

Let's see what Ireland can do against Scotland when they have to be ruthless.  That's test enough for me.  Let's see if they can genuinely play a game that goes for tries and doesn't take the foot off.

If they play to get scores, as both England and Wales will certainly attempt, then the rest will take care of itself.  But if they go just to get a 'win' then they'll deserve to be pipped at the post by someone else.  

That's my fear for next Saturday.
Was hoping ireland would arrive at Murrayfield with the weight of a potential grand slam weighing heavily and play a conservative brand.

On the flip side though, since Cotter has us playing a loose game, so if ireland open up then we could be in for a high scoring cracker

At this stage I just want to see us be honest and try it Glove.  If we lose playing a hungry game then so be it.  Scotland will get the spoils.  But it's just the attitude I want to see from Ireland that some games are worth more than just wins.  England and Wales have an instinctive ruthless streak that keeps them wanting more.  They don't fall back into defensive mode unless pushed.  I just want to see Ireland realise sometimes that ruthlessness (or the attempt to be) is required for winning things.  Next week will be one of those days.

Trust me, there was nothing ruthless about England against Scotland.

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Post by Notch Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:42 am

Fly if you think Ireland were wasteful against Wales, then you'll think England were an order of magnitude worse than us at finishing chances when you watch that game back. Should have been 28-0 within the first quarter but Scotland were actually winning at half-time!

Thats good, keeps it interesting. England should basically be celebrating the title tonight. The only thing keeping the other teams in it is some unbelievably wasteful finishing for them- could have and probably should have been 50 points they scored earlier, not 25.

At least they are creating the line breaks in the first place- but its promising for Ireland to see how easily Scotland were opened up today some times.
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Post by SecretFly Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:47 am

Hood83 wrote:

Trust me, there was nothing ruthless about England against Scotland.

Scotland kinda shocked them a little for a period which killed off the 'ruthlessness' streak a tad. But don't tell me England didn't come out expecting to do as much damage to Scotland as they could.... and in those first few minutes it looked like they were in the mood to make minced meat out of the Scots. Oh the intention to do real and significant damage was there Hood, as it always is with England.

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Post by SecretFly Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:53 am

Notch wrote:Fly if you think Ireland were wasteful against Wales, then you'll think England were an order of magnitude worse than us at finishing chances when you watch that game back. Should have been 28-0 within the first quarter but Scotland were actually winning at half-time!


I know how wasteful England were but I know how much more dynamic Scotland were (than us) too.  So that game was a two way sword for 'examples'.

But I'm really not concerned about England's path or Wales' path or France's path or Scotland's path.  All I care about is us - and how we choose to play the game.  The players need more Bite and perhaps at this point, attention-to-detail fundamentals are restricting any instincts they might have.  We need a return of animal and link it to the blackboard.  But blackboard obedience on its own has been exposed to a degree by Wales.

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Post by bedfordwelsh Sun 15 Mar 2015, 9:16 am

I've gone with my heart and voted Wales which given our first game I am just glad we are still in it.

That said I think England are now in the driving seat, (the bitter sweet part of our result yesterday).

They have a poor France side last up at home and will know what they have to do to win the Championship, not saying it will be easy as Scotland proved yesterday they can be rattled but I think it's in the own destiny now.

Wales and then Ireland just have to make sure they win their games first then hope they can get enough points on the board in the process.
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Post by The Saint Sun 15 Mar 2015, 9:56 am

England beat Italy last year by 41, to be on the safe side I think we need to beat them by at least 50. It's possible. Remember they don't have a kicker to keep chipping away at the score. Charteris will probably start again to help disrupt their driving lineout. I just wonder if Gatland will be radical and start with Francis...

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Post by bedfordwelsh Sun 15 Mar 2015, 9:58 am

I think Francis should be on the bench if for nothing else other than to cap him and given the other option is Andrews then hope he does.
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Post by majesticimperialman Sun 15 Mar 2015, 10:46 am

Well after yesterdays games England are slight favourites with Ireland in second place and Wales a close third. So any one of those three could win the tournament.

No team can afford to be complacent. next week end all teams will be going out for the win, but any one thinking it will just be a case of turning up and the game is ours. will i believe be sadly mistaken.

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Post by SecretFly Sun 15 Mar 2015, 10:59 am

Who is up first?  Wales?

Wales have the easiest game but the most difficult starting time.

They are most likely to win and yet have nothing to go on.  They must make their own rhythm and seek to score as much as they can.  

That can work two ways.  It can give the genuine motivation to keep playing hard to the last second.  But it can also perhaps stretch an attacking team and allow opportunistic scores to come from the opposition (as England found out against Italy.)  So the harder you look for tries, the easier it potentially gets for the opposition to keep resetting the clock.

Ireland then have Scotland.  They'll know what they have to do to beat Wales.  But they're up against a Scotland that can look well off the pace but also at times well on it.  So - a difficult team to try to get a big score against and the same conditions as applies to Wales.  The harder Ireland tries to get the scores, the more opportunity Scotland have to reset the clock.

England have the easiest task - at home to France and at the end.  They'll know what they have to do and they'll be at home trying it,
But France are France, so not the easiest game - and despite it being a cliché - you never do know with France.

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Post by robbo277 Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:17 am

Are we saying 3 wins for all the main contenders next week then?

I think England are in the strongest position. They have a small lead in points difference, more tries (which is the separater after points difference), a home fixture in the last game and play last.

A Welsh friend was doing the maths on a 6 point win for England. Wales would need a 32 point win to overhaul that. England proved this year and last that there are points on offer against Italy and if Wales can get a couple of early tries then they'll grow in confidence.

By yhe time they kick off, Ireland will know what they have to do with respect to Wales, but using the same benchmark 6 point win for England, Ireland would need to beat Scotland by 11 points. Unless Wales put 60 on Italy, I think 10-15 will be the minimum Ireland would be happy with. Scotland have lost 4, but they've remained competitive on the scoreboard each week and will want to finish strong at home after they lost to Italy last time out. It will be interesting to see how Ireland approach the game.

As for England, theyll know exactly how many points will give them the Championship by kick off. For an England team with a very poor Championships to matches won ratio, I think I should we close the Championship out it will really be a boost to this team, but should we fall short (even with a win), that will be 16 wins out of 20 under Lancaster with no Championships, which will intensify speculation about whether we have a winning mentality.

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Post by rainbow-warrior Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:21 am

Wales can go to Italy and play to their max with a bit of luck. They have the potential to put 45 - 50 on Italy and leave it up to the others to play catch up.

Either, either this poor Welsh side allegedly has given enough to make others wonder. See you in the pool Australia and England Smile
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Post by Nachos Jones_1 Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:30 am

Its no certainty that Ireland will even beat Scotland if I may be honest. Last day with Scotland trying to get at least one win will be very hungry. Yesterday, after England's wastefulness we saw just how attack orientated Scotland are becoming. Defense is still an issue for them but against an Ireland team with very little attacking intent, could well cause a few issues for Ireland. The game will either be a very low scoring torrid affair with little in it or a high scoring (but still close in scores) try fest.

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Post by SecretFly Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:33 am

Nachos Jones_1 wrote:Its no certainty that Ireland will even beat Scotland if I may be honest. Last day with Scotland trying to get at least one win will be very hungry. Yesterday, after England's wastefulness we saw just how attack orientated Scotland are becoming. Defense is still an issue for them but against an Ireland team with very little attacking intent, could well cause a few issues for Ireland. The game will either be a very low scoring torrid affair with little in it or a high scoring (but still close in scores) try fest.

Yes...but we all acknowledge the scenario is only based on wins. England too could lose to France - even knowing what they have to do to take the Championship. They could still lose.
So there is a lot of ifs but Ireland aren't nearly the only side who could lose next week out of the 3 favourites.

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Post by Nachos Jones_1 Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:38 am

SecretFly wrote:
Nachos Jones_1 wrote:Its no certainty that Ireland will even beat Scotland if I may be honest. Last day with Scotland trying to get at least one win will be very hungry. Yesterday, after England's wastefulness we saw just how attack orientated Scotland are becoming. Defense is still an issue for them but against an Ireland team with very little attacking intent, could well cause a few issues for Ireland. The game will either be a very low scoring torrid affair with little in it or a high scoring (but still close in scores) try fest.

Yes...but we all acknowledge the scenario is only based on wins.  England too could lose to France - even knowing what they have to do to take the Championship.  They could still lose.
So there is a lot of ifs but Ireland aren't nearly the only side who could lose next week out of the 3 favourites.

True, I would say the only team I would feel confident about winning would be Wales. Both England and Ireland could still lose but England are at home and France are in poor shape so England really should win. Scotland, have a point to prove in the last match and have shown that they can be very dangerous so I am less confident about an Irish win compared to Wales and England.

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Post by rainbow-warrior Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:41 am

Nachos Jones_1 wrote:
SecretFly wrote:
Nachos Jones_1 wrote:Its no certainty that Ireland will even beat Scotland if I may be honest. Last day with Scotland trying to get at least one win will be very hungry. Yesterday, after England's wastefulness we saw just how attack orientated Scotland are becoming. Defense is still an issue for them but against an Ireland team with very little attacking intent, could well cause a few issues for Ireland. The game will either be a very low scoring torrid affair with little in it or a high scoring (but still close in scores) try fest.

Yes...but we all acknowledge the scenario is only based on wins.  England too could lose to France - even knowing what they have to do to take the Championship.  They could still lose.
So there is a lot of ifs but Ireland aren't nearly the only side who could lose next week out of the 3 favourites.

True, I would say the only team I would feel confident about winning would be Wales. Both England and Ireland could still lose but England are at home and France are in poor shape so England really should win. Scotland, have a point to prove in the last match and have shown that they can be very dangerous so I am less confident about an Irish win compared to Wales and England.

Ahh but as our SH cousins would say, which French team will turn up?? Not quite sure why they say it but they do Whistle
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Post by Sin é Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:43 am

rainbow-warrior wrote:Wales can go to Italy and play to their max with a bit of luck.  They have the potential to put 45 - 50 on Italy and leave it up to the others to play catch up.

Either, either this poor Welsh side allegedly has given enough to make others wonder.  See you in the pool Australia and England Smile

What makes you think that? Wales have scored only 5 tries so far and the most they have ever beaten Italy by is 20pts. Italy have scored more tries than Wales (6)!

I think England will win the 6Ns.

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Post by Nachos Jones_1 Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:44 am

rainbow-warrior wrote:

Ahh but as our SH cousins would say, which French team will turn up??  Not quite sure why they say it but they do Whistle

Its really become rugby folklore hasn't it.

Seriously though, I really cant see England loosing this one, France are just in terrible shape and are coached appallingly.

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Post by SecretFly Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:47 am

Nachos Jones_1 wrote:

True, I would say the only team I would feel confident about winning would be Wales. Both England and Ireland could still lose but England are at home and France are in poor shape so England really should win. Scotland, have a point to prove in the last match and have shown that they can be very dangerous so I am less confident about an Irish win compared to Wales and England.

Ireland too will be in a mood. A loss is a loss - and a loss in Schmidt camp is video embarrassment crap and a stiff tongue lashing. Schmidt has already said we were well off the pace in the first half - and we absolutely were. Partially his fault for mixing up the side too much to take on board too many returning big-wig players. I think it upset the balance and we paid a price.

But.... they have a lot to prove now. A loss is a loss. They'll be determined not to repeat it.

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Post by rainbow-warrior Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:50 am

Nachos Jones_1 wrote:
rainbow-warrior wrote:

Ahh but as our SH cousins would say, which French team will turn up??  Not quite sure why they say it but they do Whistle

Its really become rugby folklore hasn't it.

Seriously though, I really cant see England loosing this one, France are just in terrible shape and are coached appallingly.  

Neither can I. 80,000 fans gunning for England has to be a few points in the bag, but if Wales can put a score on Italy which is a possibility then psychology can play a huge part.

Saying Wales have only put 20 on Italy is meaningless as we all know. When it comes to winning no one expected Wales to put 27 on England to win a championship.

A good weekend coming up regardless..
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Post by Nachos Jones_1 Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:53 am

I am just a little nervous Fly, I just think that Ireland are playing poorly (I know they have won 3 but they were scratchy wins), have players who seriously seem to be carrying injuries and players out of form.

I said before the match that I had doubts about Heaslip and SOB and it would appear as if I was correct in my doubts. Jordi and TOD, in my eyes were the better options yesterday but that is water under the bridge.

I like Schmidt as the coach but I do believe he makes some very basic errors, errors that had Kidney hounded.

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Post by Sin é Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:55 am

rainbow-warrior wrote:
Nachos Jones_1 wrote:
rainbow-warrior wrote:

Ahh but as our SH cousins would say, which French team will turn up??  Not quite sure why they say it but they do Whistle

Its really become rugby folklore hasn't it.

Seriously though, I really cant see England loosing this one, France are just in terrible shape and are coached appallingly.  

Neither can I.  80,000 fans gunning for England has to be a few points in the bag, but if Wales can put a score on Italy which is a possibility then psychology can play a huge part.

Saying Wales have only put 20 on Italy is meaningless as we all know.  When it comes to winning no one expected Wales to put 27 on England to win a championship.

A good weekend coming up regardless..

Wales have not been scoring tries though (like Ireland) and must be knackered after the 285 tackles yesterday!
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Post by Guest Sun 15 Mar 2015, 11:59 am

Sin é wrote:
rainbow-warrior wrote:Wales can go to Italy and play to their max with a bit of luck.  They have the potential to put 45 - 50 on Italy and leave it up to the others to play catch up.

Either, either this poor Welsh side allegedly has given enough to make others wonder.  See you in the pool Australia and England Smile

What makes you think that? Wales have scored only 5 tries so far and the most they have ever beaten Italy by is 20pts. Italy have scored more tries than Wales (6)!

I think England will win the 6Ns.


Your statement above is factually incorrect. We've beaten them by 39 points, both home and away.

But I agree, this year we have very little chance of doing it. I think it will be a horrible old slog fest, like Wales v Ireland yesterday, with Wales hopefully winning but probably not by more than a score or so.

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Post by Nachos Jones_1 Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:00 pm

If Haimona starts for Italy, then I can see Wales having a good day. He truly is the worst 10 I have ever seen.

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Post by SecretFly Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:02 pm

Nachos Jones_1 wrote:I am just a little nervous Fly, I just think that Ireland are playing poorly (I know they have won 3 but they were scratchy wins), have players who seriously seem to be carrying injuries and players out of form.

I said before the match that I had doubts about Heaslip and SOB and it would appear as if I was correct in my doubts. Jordi and TOD, in my eyes were the better options yesterday but that is water under the bridge.

I like Schmidt as the coach but I do believe he makes some very basic errors, errors that had Kidney hounded.

He's persisting with trying to get Heaslip, Healy and O'Brien back in and getting games as a unit.  That's obviously a 'sacrifice' objective directed at having those players in prime form later in the year.  So I can understand his thoughts on taking out Murphy and TOD.  But it's not the plan that should have been used to give us the best shot at the Grand Slam or the Title.  Murphy and TOD should have been given the games they played themselves onto and have the bench filled with the 'old' guys waiting for gametime.  That was a slip up.  But I'm conscious of why he wants to give these mainstay players hard games in the build up to WC. Pity it wrecked a real shot at the Slam.

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Post by Notch Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:02 pm

I think England may yet live to regret the soft tries they conceded against Italy, and the many tries they left out there yesterday.
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Post by rainbow-warrior Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:09 pm

Sin é wrote:
rainbow-warrior wrote:
Nachos Jones_1 wrote:
rainbow-warrior wrote:

Ahh but as our SH cousins would say, which French team will turn up??  Not quite sure why they say it but they do Whistle

Its really become rugby folklore hasn't it.

Seriously though, I really cant see England loosing this one, France are just in terrible shape and are coached appallingly.  

Neither can I.  80,000 fans gunning for England has to be a few points in the bag, but if Wales can put a score on Italy which is a possibility then psychology can play a huge part.

Saying Wales have only put 20 on Italy is meaningless as we all know.  When it comes to winning no one expected Wales to put 27 on England to win a championship.

A good weekend coming up regardless..

Wales have not been scoring tries though (like Ireland) and must be knackered after the 285 tackles yesterday!

Yes but winning take that pain away. I would argue that after 30 phases of trying from 5 meters and not even getting a free kick would be far worse in my opinion. Just saying.
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Post by SecretFly Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:11 pm

rainbow-warrior wrote:Yes but winning take that pain away.  I would argue that after 30 phases of trying from 5 meters and not even getting a free kick would be far worse in my opinion.  Just saying.
Barnes saw to that.  Just saying Wink

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Post by Nachos Jones_1 Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:13 pm

SecretFly wrote:

He's persisting with trying to get Heaslip, Healy and O'Brien back in and getting games as a unit.  That's obviously a 'sacrifice' objective directed at having those players in prime form later in the year.  So I can understand his thoughts on taking out Murphy and TOD.  But it's not the plan that should have been used to give us the best shot at the Grand Slam or the Title.  Murphy and TOD should have been given the games they played themselves onto and have the bench filled with the 'old' guys waiting for gametime.  That was a slip up.  But I'm conscious of why he wants to give these mainstay players hard games in the build up to WC.  Pity it wrecked a real shot at the Slam.

I think that it was a terrible mistake, Ireland should have been going for the slam and not rushing these players back to 'get games as a unit' when Ireland had players in form. It sends out the wrong signal in my mind. Last 6N he persisted with a very much out of form D'Arcy when players (like Henshaw etc) were there ready and willing.

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Post by rainbow-warrior Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:17 pm

SecretFly wrote:
rainbow-warrior wrote:Yes but winning take that pain away.  I would argue that after 30 phases of trying from 5 meters and not even getting a free kick would be far worse in my opinion.  Just saying.
Barnes saw to that.  Just saying Wink

Aw bless so that's New Zealand and Ireland who don't like Barnes! Why?? both lost picard Odd that innit!
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Post by Nachos Jones_1 Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:24 pm

I really don't think that Barnes had a bad day yesterday myself. Very pedantic for the first quarter of the match but he was also consistent. The majority of his calls were correct and he was consistent for both teams which is all you can ask for. I think he got two vital decisions wrong at the end of the match but that should not overshadow the rest of his performance.

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Post by George Carlin Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:27 pm

Nachos Jones_1 wrote:If Haimona starts for Italy, then I can see Wales having a good day. He truly is the worst  10 I have ever seen.
 Who will win the Championship? Dan-pa11
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Post by SecretFly Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:28 pm

Nachos Jones_1 wrote:
SecretFly wrote:

He's persisting with trying to get Heaslip, Healy and O'Brien back in and getting games as a unit.  That's obviously a 'sacrifice' objective directed at having those players in prime form later in the year.  So I can understand his thoughts on taking out Murphy and TOD.  But it's not the plan that should have been used to give us the best shot at the Grand Slam or the Title.  Murphy and TOD should have been given the games they played themselves onto and have the bench filled with the 'old' guys waiting for gametime.  That was a slip up.  But I'm conscious of why he wants to give these mainstay players hard games in the build up to WC.  Pity it wrecked a real shot at the Slam.

I think that it was a terrible mistake, Ireland should have been going for the slam and not rushing these players back to 'get games as a unit' when Ireland had players in form. It sends out the wrong signal in my mind. Last 6N he persisted with a very much out of form D'Arcy when players (like Henshaw etc) were there ready and willing.

Not saying it was right.  I'm saying that's what I believe was the planning and thinking.  Just being honest in my views.
O'Brien isn't close to being ready enough for the intensity of this Six Nations in my opinion.  And I've been saying he's over-compensating since his return, desperately trying to bully himself into the form he knows is required of him.  But he's not there and must not be even there in training in comparison to the alternatives - but he's being played.

Healy too is way off his standards.  But he's playing.

Kearney is totally not functioning sufficiently at 15 - even his heroic high catches are a distant memory (has fear crept into that part of his game?) - but he's there.

Bowe looks off the pace required and doesn't look comfortable in the air either - he continually taps back (if he's lucky enough to be close) rather than trying to collect.  That hints to me like a lack of confidence - but he's there.

Redden brought absolutely better pace to the game - it had nothing to do with forward dominance, it was simply a scrum half capable of introducing pace.  And instantly a shuddering and uneven Irish performance looked like it had teeth again and was beginning to ask serious questions of the Welsh defence.  But Redden didn't get much of a look in this season - even in those games when we were hanging on and looking for more go forward aggression at the end of tight games.

So I see players all over the place supposedly doing the job Schmidt requires of them (plod and ruck stuff added to defence) - but I see players not on form getting too much of this Six Nations as players in form get dropped.

There has to be a method in these madness streaks.  There just has to be.  The alternative is that it's just madness.

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Post by SecretFly Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:30 pm

rainbow-warrior wrote:
SecretFly wrote:
rainbow-warrior wrote:Yes but winning take that pain away.  I would argue that after 30 phases of trying from 5 meters and not even getting a free kick would be far worse in my opinion.  Just saying.
Barnes saw to that.  Just saying Wink

Aw bless so that's New Zealand and Ireland who don't like Barnes!  Why?? both lost picard   Odd that innit!

Yeah, let's talk Rolland then? He's a more justified example. Just saying???? Wink

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Post by Guest Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:35 pm

England have a history of choking in their final game when the pressure is on, heres hoping France and Scotland can do us a favour

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Post by Nachos Jones_1 Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:40 pm

George Carlin wrote:
Nachos Jones_1 wrote:If Haimona starts for Italy, then I can see Wales having a good day. He truly is the worst  10 I have ever seen.
 Who will win the Championship? Dan-pa11

Nah, Parks is Wilkinson compared to Haimona Very Happy

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Post by captain carrantuohil Sun 15 Mar 2015, 12:44 pm

Certainly possible, IM and it's what keeps the old hope burning just now after a slightly chastening day yesterday. One thing I would say is that in 2011 and 2013 (and 2000 and 2001, come to think of it), England were away from Twickers when going for titles and Grand Slams. Yes, they still froze, but they have a recent habit of doing what they need to at home.

I just hope that France don't simply down tools in protest at the unbelievable machinations of their bizarre coach. They have done it before, although I suspect it's unlikely this time. For what it's worth, I think that the form sides will win but that it won't come easy for any of them. Wales to pull away and win by 15-20 after a frustrating first hour; Ireland to be too street-wise for Scotland but not to revert too far from plan A and therefore only to win by about 7. That will mean that England will need to do France by three or four and my feeling is that they'll get there. Just.

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Post by GunsGerms Sun 15 Mar 2015, 1:58 pm

Wales will win I reckon by a difference of 3 points

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Post by Golden Sun 15 Mar 2015, 2:58 pm

Which France side will turn up? Theres only one French side and at the moment they are terrible. I can see England hammering them at home and taking the championship on pd. Ireland 2nd and Wales 3rd.

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Post by bedfordwelsh Sun 15 Mar 2015, 3:37 pm

Griff wrote:
Sin é wrote:
rainbow-warrior wrote:Wales can go to Italy and play to their max with a bit of luck.  They have the potential to put 45 - 50 on Italy and leave it up to the others to play catch up.

Either, either this poor Welsh side allegedly has given enough to make others wonder.  See you in the pool Australia and England Smile

What makes you think that? Wales have scored only 5 tries so far and the most they have ever beaten Italy by is 20pts. Italy have scored more tries than Wales (6)!

I think England will win the 6Ns.


Your statement above is factually incorrect. We've beaten them by 39 points, both home and away.

But I agree, this year we have very little chance of doing it. I think it will be a horrible old slog fest, like Wales v Ireland yesterday, with Wales hopefully winning but probably not by more than a score or so.

Griff,

Since when have some people allowed facts to get in the way Wink I think we will win but will it be by enough, I am not sure and for me England are now in pole position
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Post by Notch Sun 15 Mar 2015, 3:38 pm

The Italy and France game is awful, awful stuff. On this evidence Wales and England will be comfortable next week.
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Post by bedfordwelsh Sun 15 Mar 2015, 3:42 pm

Its an absolute dire game
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Post by bedfordwelsh Sun 15 Mar 2015, 3:59 pm

I wonder where the organisers will place the trophy next weekend?
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Post by Golden Sun 15 Mar 2015, 4:08 pm

Probably Twickers since England go in to the last round top of the table?

Hopefully France can pick up some confidence today to bring to England

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